This was some Star Wars fabric I picked up at half-price from Value Village ages ago, and it’s just been languishing in a tote for no good reason. Actually, I’m pretty sure the reason was that it was 13′ long, and I found trying to photograph it challenging, so I put it off. I picked up other SW fabric the same day that I listed and sold right away.

My oldest son was really into Thomas the Tank Engine. My younger son not at all. He skipped all of the toddler Thomas/Bob the Builder/Dinosaur Train stages and went straight to superheroes and Star Wars (which is what my oldest is now into). My youngest had a birthday this week which motivated me to swap his clothes from 3T to 4T, and I came across five pairs of 4T PJs that my oldest loved, but my youngest would be completely indifferent to. I didn’t even bother putting them in his drawer to be ignored, they went directly to eBay.

I got an e-mail with this purchase that it was a gift for a baby shower. I’m guessing the recipient must have had one when she was young? Hopefully it brought her some fond memories, and will create new ones with her little-one-to-be.

These probably came out of the same tote as the SW fabric above. I picked them up at a yard sale last summer, and then they just hung around for almost a year. I don’t bother much with most TY plush, but a few of the characters can be worth some money, and Blues Clues is a good bet in general.

I skipped last week’s FFF because I didn’t feel like I had many sales worth mentioning (just a bunch of clothes, which are reliable sellers, but not what I find to be most fun).Here are a few of my favorite sales from the last week:These pants have been hanging around for months waiting to be listed. They are NWT Old Navy. My hesitation to list them was that they appear to have a maternity panel waist, but nowhere on the tags are they listed as maternity pants. So, I finally listed them explaining just that, and whaddyaknow, they sold in five days.

I will usually pick up sheet sets at yard sales (or 50% off day at consignment sales!) if they are new in the package and $5 or less. While they aren’t always fast sellers, every set I’ve picked up has eventually sold for a decent profit.

I bought this at a rummage-type-sale just after Easter last year. I had just sold some used Easter Thomas trains so I knew it would be a sure-seller . . . eventually. Usually after 6 months or so I’ll add “Best Offer” to my listings, but in this case I didn’t because I was confident it would sell at full price before Easter rolled around again.

I really like buying these Disney books, and I’ve sold several lots, but they are s-l-o-w to sell for a price that I’m happy with. I only pick them up now if they’re still in like-new condition and only cost around a quarter.

I’ve also had three Bonanza sales recently (a lot for me within a week’s time). The one below is my favorite, because it’s adorable. I picked it up for $1.50 a year or two ago after Valentine’s Day, thinking I would give it to one of my boys the following year. Then I came to my senses, and realized they already have way more stuffed animals than they know what do do with, and why should I add to that madness?

I swear that I’ve shared these as a BOLO before, but I just did a quick search of my blog and can’t find a post about it. When I first started eBaying I listed a bunch of Thomas Duplos and they sold well. My oldest had gotten some (thrifted) ones for Christmas about the same time. But, he’s six now and hasn’t played with Thomas toys in ages, so I pulled the Duplos aside when packing up his toys when we moved over the summer. I think I paid around $10 total for the items below. I offered free shipping on everything, and I think all but the big lot of tracks shipped via First Class.

Gordon + TenderSold in 10 days for $34.95

Thomas + Troublesome TruckSold in 22 days for $24.95

TobySold in 29 days for $17.95

JamesSold in 19 days for $21.95

Track SwitchSold in 23 days for $10.50

2 Track Ends PiecesSold in 9 days for $14.95

82 Piece Track LotSold in 2 days for $74.95

Every single piece that I listed from this lot sold in less than a month! This was the first time I listed a big lot of tracks, and I was really happy that the sale price was almost $1 per piece of regular track. When I encounter Thomas Duplo lots in the future I will definitely keep that in mind when I try to determine if the asking price is worth it. I will buy and sell almost everything Thomas, but the Duplos are my favorite!

That my consignment sale stuff will sell. Last night was NOT a roaring success. It was the volunteer presale, and 2 (!) of my 115ish items sold. Nothing to get worked up over, I know. But, I just went to the consignor presale. Holy sticker shock. The majority of the items I would have been interested in were way above my price range. And most of those weren’t marked to be reduced as the sale progresses. It gives me hope that people may come across my items and be thrilled – because in comparison they will look like a steal!I did pick up a few things for the purpose of resale. Some of which I overpaid for (vs. yard sale prices), but what can I say, I got swept up in the fun. And I like knowing that my purchases will show up on someone’s sale list tonight, and make them happy. 🙂

I realized after I left that I never even got around to looking at books, movies, etc. The sale runs through Saturday. I plan to head back on Friday evening when consignors can shop the 50% off sale. Maybe some other good finds will be unearthed by then.

I always look in the baggies of toy dishes at Value Village to see if there is anything good amongst the blah and rubbish. A few months back I found a bag with 2 Baby Alive bottles that make sucking and burping sounds. I finally got around to listing them, and both sold within just a few days. (The rest that is not eBay worthy I will put into my own baggy and re-sell at an upcoming consignment sale.)

Baby Alive bottle with soundsPaid $3ish for the bag; Sold $14.95/ea – shippingStill have extras to sell at consignment sale

I thought these were really cute!

John Deere play keysPaid $0.25 at consignment-ish sale; Sold $14.95 – shipping

I had read somewhere that Caboodles sell well. I found one a couple weeks ago at Value Village, and a second one the next week. I finally listed both the same day. A smaller one instantly had a bunch of watchers, but this bigger one was the first to sell.

Vintage CaboodlePaid $5.24; Sold $49.95 – shipping

I love finding Thomas Duplos! I actually have a bunch I need to get listed. My goal was to get them all listed before Christmas, but alas, it did not happen. Almost all those that I did list have sold.

James Duplo TrainPaid $40 for a huge lot at a yard sale last summerSold James for $24.95 – shipping

I am a plush lover who cannot be bothered with Beanie Babies. They have never seemed like they were worth the effort. This guy, however, I will make an exception for. He’s so cute! He was the “extra” in a bag from Value Village.

Boo-Hoo Halloween Owl Beanie BabyPaid $1ish?; Sold $17.50 – shipping

Last summer I picked up Stephenie Meyer books when I found them cheap. I am sure I didn’t pay more than $1 for any of these, at most. Imagine my surprise when I got the 5 together and realized I didn’t have any duplicates! I sold them as a lot.

Stephenie Meyer Book LotPaid $3ish?; Sold $29.95 – shipping

For some reason I really liked this Ugly Christmas Sweater, and I actually thought about keeping it for myself. But I knew I would never actually wear it, so to eBay it went. My hesitation in listing it caused me to price it a tad higher than my other sweaters I was selling.

This summer I bought a couple totes full of PVC Disney characters. One I sorted out, photographed, and listed. The other is still waiting for my attention. The lot below is one of the last I had left from the first tote. I paid $7 for the tote, and have sold at least 10 different lots for $15-$20 each. The organizing and photographing, etc, took some work, but it’s been worth it.

I am participating in my second ever consignment sale this weekend. I dropped off 169 items (I think). It is a JBF (Just Between Friends) sale. It is the first time they have ever had one here.Randomly, the way I found out about it was because the wife (it’s a couple running it) e-mailed me in response to a Craigslist listing, saying if my items hadn’t sold, that I should think about consigning at their sale. At that point I was already planning to consign at a different sale that starts next week. Two sales back to back sounded crazy. And several things about the JBF sale put me off, including:It starts out at 65% (the other starts at 70%). They specifically say that you can’t bring your kids to the presale, which means I wouldn’t be able to shop at it.The next day (first day open to the public – which is actually today) there is a $2 admission fee. (The other sale doesn’t have any admission fees). I decided I would attend as a shopper, see what it was like, and think about consigning the next time. But . . . . something kept bothering me. That is exactly what I did with the “other” sale, BBD (Baby’s Bottom Dollar), last year. I attended their very first sale as a shopper, and heard about how great all of the consignors made out. I consigned at their second sale, and . . . the word on the street is that they had twice as many consignors, but definitely not twice as many shoppers, so no one did that great. I felt pretty discouraged by the end of it. (You can read about my first consignment sale experience HERE if you are so inclined.)

I’ve got a lot of stuff I’d like to unload that isn’t eBay worthy, but is still worth something. But even more than the money, I want it GONE! Out of my house please. So a couple days before the drop-off began I decided I would participate in the JBF sale in addition to the BBD sale. I tagged around 170 items. It went pretty smoothly, I wasn’t overly stressed out about it (maybe because I knew I had a second chance next week with whatever doesn’t get tagged or sold this time).What I do like about the JBF sale:

Their tagging system doesn’t close down. You can tag right up until you bring items to drop off. Their location is also at the fairgrounds, but much bigger, so everything is more spread out. It is easier to see all of the toys, etc (everything isn’t just piled on top of each other).The couple was very nice and gave me a pass to attend today so I didn’t have to pay the entrance fee.What I’m not loving about the JBF sale:The presale was yesterday, but they haven’t updated the sales reports online. They said it would be done by this morning, but nope, not yet.I saw a lot of my toys still on the tables when shopping this morning. Which was discouraging. I was hoping some would have sold yesterday.I found NOTHING to buy. Not one thing.

There was a Stitch costume like this that I REALLY wanted to buy when I was dropping my items off, but was sure that it wouldn’t make it through the presale, and it didn’t. There was a wooden Cranky toy for $6 that I was going to buy until I realized that it didn’t actually crank (it seemed to have all the parts, but it must have been broken somewhere). I picked up some blue rain boots thinking I would buy them for my youngest, until I saw they were $12. Maybe I am just too used to yard sale prices, but $12 seemed like a lot to me, especially since I have some bookmarked on Amazon that I really love for not that much more.So, consignment sales are big business. But I don’t think my town has figured it out yet.

Last time I wrote I shared some of my new listings that quickly went out the door. Well, the last couple days I’ve also gotten rid of a few items I thought might never sell. Here are some items I was SOOO happy to see leave:

I only paid 50 cents for this Superman at a church rummage sale. But he was BIG. 3 feet tall. He took up a lot of room. Was in good but not great condition (a little faded from being washed). I was very happy to see him go. And have already received positive feedback.

Superman Body PillowPaid $0.50, Sold $29.99 – shipping

Aren’t these funny? They were the “extra” in one of my Value Village bags (meaning, they just happened to be in a bag that I purchased because I wanted whatever was in the bag with them). I thought listing them would be worth a try, but was not at all sure that anyone would actually want to buy them. They are small – around 3″ tall. This is the e-mail I got from the buyer after e-mailing him to let him know his package was in the mail:

Funny back story on why I’m buying these things. My cat has had one since he was a kitten (2009) and it is the ONLY thing he will play with. He carries it everywhere like it is his kid, even to eat. His is quite wore out and I’m really glad I found some before his gets totally destroyed.

Aussie (Hair Spray) Kangaroo PlushPaid ?, Sold $11.99 – shipping

I’ve had this for at least 6 months. It’s kind of big. I’m tired of looking at it. It’s had watchers off and on, and I am glad it is finally off to a new home.

I picked up a shape sorter from a free box last summer. It was missing the the lid and some of the shapes. I found it just after I started eBaying. I thought maybe someone would want to buy some replacement pieces. And then immediately started doubting it. It’s not an especially expensive toy. Would anyone care enough to replace the pieces? I only ever listed one set of replacement pieces, just as a test, and have actually been meaning to just cancel the listing if I ever notice it about to automatically relist. Imagine my surprise when someone actually bought them yesterday! Now to decide if I should list the other extra pieces I still have, somewhere.

Shape Sorter Replacement PiecesPaid – FREE, Sold $5.99 – shipping

This was also purchased in my first month or so of eBaying. I bought 7 or 8 nice wooden Thomas accessories for $20 total. I listed 3 of them, and 2 sold quickly. This one has been hanging around ever since. It always has watchers, but I guess it was just expensive enough that it took awhile for someone to take the plunge. I was holding on to the other 4 or 5 Thomas items (that I bought at the same time) to possibly give to my son, but he’s pretty much past his Thomas phase (and is in a full-fledged Star Wars phase). So I think it is time to dig out the other Thomas items and get them listed.

Farmer Maccoll’s BarnPaid around $2.50, Sold $39.99 – shipping

This is kind of cool. It is a Mickey that looks kind of plush but is more mechanical. You stand him up, push down on his head, and then he will “engage” and stand back up, kind of jump, and then start playing “Pomp & Circumstance”. I randomly came across him in a hanging baggie at Value Village. He was with the kitchen housewares instead of the plush, so it was kind of a fluke that I even found him. He was the half-off color of the week, NWT, and it was just before graduation season, so I thought I’d take a chance. And then graduation season came and went. He had a number of watchers off and on but no takers. Until yesterday. Farewell, Mickey!

Graduation MickeyPaid $1.49, Sold $24.99 – shipping

Happy Happy Joy Joy! Just an hour ago (after already having written this post) another graduation plush just sold. What’s up with that? But I’m not complaining!

Maybe it’s because it has been over four years since I’ve held a 9-5 job, so Mondays no longer mean going back to the grind. I had a friend (also a SAHM) recently post on Facebook that she actually really likes Mondays – full of opportunity and lists of the things she wants to accomplish before the week is through. It is when Thursday or Friday rolls around and she hasn’t accomplished all that she set out to do that she starts feeling frustrated and grumpy. I thought: Hey! Me too!

Another reason I’m loving Mondays is because it seems to be my best eBay day of the week. Yesterday I had 7 sales, which is a great day for me. ***Breaking news*** As I was typing the above sentence, I just got a notice that I sold my 8th item for today. So, I guess I love Tuesdays too! That’s 15 items in 2 days. I don’t think I sold 15 items all of last week. The last couple weeks were super s-l-o-w for me, so I will enjoy the jump in sales while they last.

Here are some of my favorite recent sales:

Cruella de Vil Potato Head accessories$8.09 – shipping (on sale)

This Blues Clues Magnet set quickly had several watchers and sold in a day or two. I think it helped that I had a complete set. I also recently sold a Blues Clues sweatshirt (nothing special about it really, except that there were no others size 4T listed at the time) that sold in less than a day for $14.99 – shipping.

Blues Clues Magnet Set$27.99 – shipping

This guy hung around for six months or so before finally selling. He’s more cute and less creepy looking in person.

Pink Pooh$21.99 – shipping

I love puppets. I picked up these at a rummage sale a month or so ago for $1.

Does anyone else ever marvel at the amazing-ness of the US Postal System? I’m not being snarky – completely sincere. I’m sure we’ve all had our issues or glitches at one time or another, but really . . . the speed with which the items that I sell are delivered is frankly staggering sometimes. I mailed a plush out Saturday morning that was heading to Indiana. My BIL got married that day, so it was hectic, and I didn’t send out my “your package is in the mail” e-mail as I usually would. Mailed some more packages today, sent the e-mails, and then checked the tracking info on the item I mailed on Saturday, trying to decide if I should send a belated e-mail. Surprise! The package has already been delivered. Left Oregon sometime Saturday (via first class mail), delivered in Indiana on Monday. Seriously, how is that even possible?! Impressed, yes I am.

New Finds

I did a little pre-wedding yard-saling on Saturday. Just me and the 4 year-old. He is the best little yard sale buddy. He loves it as much as I do, and while, of course, he does ask for things, 99% of the time he is fine when I say no, because he knows there will be another yard sale just around the corner. We had a great time.

I mostly picked up books for eBay lots and kids clothes (found some for the 4 year-old to grow into, hooray!) Didn’t come across much of interest for eBay.

I also went to Value Village this morning. I didn’t find a lot, but I did pick up a big bag of wooden Thomas tracks that included the following:

I paid $7.74 for the above pieces, plus a bunch of “regular” Thomas brand tracks, and a couple trains. That was the highlight of the thrifting trip.

And, quickly, a goals recap.

The good:

I ordered my boxes and envelopes from USPS, and ordered some self-adhesive mailing labels from eBay.

I found my camera!!! In my purse. So it wasn’t really as missing as I thought it might be.

The could-be-better:

I wanted to get at least 35 new listings up. I ended up with 28 new eBay listings, so I didn’t quite make my goal. I also had 4 new half.com listings, 8 items I had to manually relist, and 1 that needed some updating.

I clipped a few coupons, filed none of them. Still have a ways to go on this project. I hate being at the store and KNOWING I have a coupon for an item at home, somewhere. Being disorganized is literally costing me money. Sigh.

I’ve mostly gotten my items input on my inventory spreadsheet. Mostly. What does everyone do about keeping track of books or kids clothes for lots? I bought a bunch of books this weekend, mostly for a quarter apiece. I just don’t see myself inputting and keeping track of how much I paid for each individual title.

The hasn’t-happened-yet:

I didn’t get around to running my sale on kids clothing. I had most of them set to a 30-day run without automatically relisting, so the ones that haven’t sold I have to go back in and relist. Want to get that done before I start the sale.

So many things to do, so little time.

This week’s goals:

Average at least five new listings per day.

Add calculated shipping to at least one listing this week. STILL haven’t done this yet. Need to do it once, just to show myself how easy it really is.

Run a sale on kids’ clothes. And maybe plush again. I sold at least 10 plush items this week, and most were when I was running the sale. It really does seem to make a difference.